ABSTRACT

This article, a case study of a single instance of collaborative translation in the classroom, explores the role of material mediation and embodied activity in the linguistic problem solving work of emergent multilinguals. We describe one teacher’s lesson with a small group of Spanish speaking students in her 7th grade ESL classroom. Collaborative translation is an approach that leverages the translation process (defining, translating, reading, revising, and discussing) to engage students in close readings of the text as they draw on their metalinguistic knowledge to promote deeper comprehension. Using multimodal interaction analysis methods, this paper investigates what we refer to as language problem solving events (LPSEs), a connected series of interactions around a word or phrase whose translation is a subject of negotiation. Findings describe how the material arrangement of the activity gave all participants opportunity to watch and comment on the choices being made by the scribe, so the written translation came to mediate the activity not only as a product of collective effort but also as a co-participant in the evolving interaction. The orchestrated configuration of materials fostered collective activity, but the particular affordances of the material inscription simultaneously transformed linguistic choices into objects that re-mediated subsequent action.

摘要

本文以课堂协作翻译的单个实例为例，探讨了材料中介和具身活动在新兴多语者解决语言问题工作中的作用。我们描述了一位教师在她 7 年级 ESL 课堂上与一小群讲西班牙语的学生的课程。协作翻译是一种利用翻译过程的方法（定义、翻译、阅读、修改和讨论）让学生在利用元语言知识的同时仔细阅读文本，以促进更深入的理解。本文使用多模态交互分析方法研究了我们所称的语言问题解决事件 (LPSE)，即围绕翻译是协商主题的单词或短语的一系列相互关联的交互。调查结果描述了活动的材料安排如何让所有参与者有机会观看和评论抄写员所做的选择，因此书面翻译不仅作为集体努力的产物而且作为共同参与者来调解活动在不断发展的互动中。精心安排的材料配置促进了集体活动，